Monday, March 15, 2010

Crocheted Knitted Leaf

I made my first knitted leaves, on faith, as it were, from a pattern for a Burning Man project.I was astounded at the beauty and simplicity of these leaves especially for someone just picking up needles. The astonishment was that what I created, while it followed the pattern precisely, looked nothing like the picture on the web, mine had a vein and lacy holes.

I’ve got a collection of crocheted leaves, but am always in search of something more. This new leaf offers a lovely contrast to my crocheted flowers. I wanted plain leaves, as untextured as possible, to which I could add texture, and without veins.

I am a new knitter and for some reason, unbeknownst to me, my right side looked finished but the left did not, and so the crochet finishes it.

When you get to the bottom, if you’re a crocheter, there are tons of cords/stems and ways to add length, should you choose. There’s a simple chain, double base chain, lobster stitch, sc chain, sl st back on a chain, sc back on a chain, twist chains and fpdc cords.

If you’re a knitter then there’s an I cord.

You could make this in any size yarn… thinner yarn and smaller needles would yield smaller leaves, thicker yarn and larger needles, would offer larger leaves. And of course, you could extrapolate, in either direction. I worked these as firmly as I could.

Felting – which was my original intent for these – will shrink and compact them, if you choose wool, as I have for these prototypes.